Multimedia communication system and method

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are disclosed for creating, editing, sharing and distributing high-quality, media-rich web-based communications. The communications are created in a layered fashion that integrates user-selected text, colors, background patterns, images, sound, music, video, or other media. The systems and methods are used to generate, edit, broadcast, and track electronic presentations, brochures, advertisements (such as banner advertisements on highly trafficked media websites), announcements, and interactive web pages, without the need for the user to understand complex programming languages.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation and claims the benefit of priorityunder 35 U.S.C. §120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/404,509,filed Apr. 13, 2006 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,870,497 entitled “MULTIMEDIACOMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD”, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C.§119 to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/671,170, filed Apr. 13,2005, entitled “MULTIMEDIA COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD”, which thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

In today's internet age, development of a communication piece such as apresentation, banner advertisement, website or brochure, whether staticor dynamically employing multimedia, is usually contracted out to aprofessional graphic designer. Such professional is typically part of aprofessional agency, such as an advertisement agency, which are usuallycost-prohibitive for small enterprises (i.e. sole proprietor or smallbusiness), and can be unnecessarily costly for larger enterprises. Theseagents or agencies consume large amounts of resources, in time and/ormoney particularly, for creating a media-rich communication, such as awebsite, an e-mail campaign, a banner advertisement, or othercommunication. Accordingly, a system and method which automates theprocess of creating and distributing professional quality, media-richcommunications is needed.

SUMMARY

This document discloses systems and methods for creating, editing,sharing and distributing high-quality, media-rich web-basedcommunications, also known as “engines” or “creative works.” Thecommunications can be created in a layered fashion that integrates text,colors, background patterns, images, sound, music, and/or video. Othermedia can also be used. The systems and methods can be used to generate,edit, broadcast, and track electronic presentations, brochures,advertisements (such as banner advertisements on highly trafficked mediawebsites), announcements, and interactive web pages.

In one aspect, a method and apparatus are provided for dividing the workof creating a multimedia file for a communication into a logicalstep-by-step, start-to-finish process that requires no programmingintervention. In a specific exemplary embodiment, the multimedia file isbased on Flash, an authoring software developed by Macromedia for vectorgraphics-based animation programs with full-screen navigationinterfaces, graphic illustrations, and simple interactivity in anantialiased, resizable file format that is small enough to stream acrossany type of Internet connection and play while downloading. Othermultimedia software and/or protocols can be used.

In particular embodiments, a system and method are provided for creatingand/or delivering multimedia files via a SaaS model, and for loadingmedia assets into an advertising engine online. In other embodiments, asystem and method are provided for automatically creating and hostingdata-specific communications for use as websites, presentations,advertisements, brochures and the like, for use with variouscommunication media, systems and networks. The data-specificcommunications include, without limitation, data related to softwareprograms, web services, proprietary data from third party databases,persons, locations, keywords, companies and combinations thereof.

In another aspect, a method and system are provided for automaticallyextracting and formatting multimedia code, such as Flash or otheractionscript code, for use as a template that can be edited via a userinterface without the intervention of a programmer, and for providingeditorial control of multimedia files, keyword and content specificfiles or websites by a master user controlling the editorial rights ofone to N number of sub-users within the system.

In yet other aspects, a method and apparatus are provided for onlinecreation and editing of multimedia files compiled from a set of data;for creation, editing and distribution of multimedia files created froma wide variety of content including video, audio, images, text, rawdata, Flash™ programs, software programs, web services or othermedia-rich content; and for auto-determining the “content” to beincluded in a communication based on answers to a series of prompts orinterview questions and/or other meta data.

In yet other aspects, a method and apparatus is provided forauto-determining the “look and feel” of a communication based on aseries of interview questions and/or other meta data, and for combiningdata, content, and “look and feel” to create unique communications.Other systems and methods are provided for converting uniquecommunications to multiple formats and media, such as a website, amultimedia file, a printed medium, a video, etc.

The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other features and advantages willbe apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects will now be described in detail with referenceto the following drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a multimedia communication system.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method for creating a template includes creatingone or more communication templates.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method 300 for template customization and mediaasset usage.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method 400 for distributing and trackingcommunications.

FIG. 5 illustrates sharing by users of media assets with other users.

FIGS. 6-16 are block diagrams depicting a general system and method forcreating, distributing and tracking multimedia and hypermedia-basedcommunications.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The systems and methods described herein relate to software as a service(SaaS), a software distribution model in which applications are hostedby a service provider and made available to users over a network such asthe Internet. The systems and methods include the use of templates and athin client interface to create multimedia communications. Low-levelfunctionality of the multimedia communication system is accessed througha set of function calls and easily understood pre-built components forpopulating the template. Furthermore, an API provides a user access tothe full scope of a programming language which allows for templatescalability without the need for in-depth knowledge of the programmingor authoring language to produce highly functional, professionaltemplate-based communications. Additionally, the systems provide samplesource files to encourage reverse engineering.

FIG. 1 illustrates a multimedia communication system 100 for creating,storing and distributing multimedia communications (hereafter,“communications”) such as, for example, content-rich e-mails,presentations, websites and segments of websites. The communicationsystem 100 includes a communication builder engine 102 that interactswith a client user interface 104 over a network 106. The client userinterface 104 can be a window in a browser application that runs on apersonal computer. The network 106 is preferably the Internet, but canbe any type of network, particularly as used in a client/serverconfiguration.

The communication builder engine 102 includes a project builder 108 forgenerating a project viewer 118 via which a user can view and assemblevarious media components or assets into an integrated communication. Thecommunication builder engine 102 further includes a media repository 110for storing communication project templates, media assets, communicationproject metadata, and any other data resources used for creating,storing and distributing completed communication projects. The completedcommunication projects are accessed from the media repository 110 anddistributed to selected recipients by a distribution program 112. Thedistribution program 112 controls the format and communication protocolsfor distributing the communications.

The communication builder engine 102 further includes a sharing program114, which prompts a user to provide distribution parameters such as atype of communication (e-mail, website, etc.), a number and type ofrecipients, and communication medium by which the communication needs tobe sent. The sharing program 114 can also report to the sending usercertain qualitative and quantitative data such as transmission results,responses received from recipients, etc.

A communication is a collection of slides. The number of slides for anygiven communication project can range from 0 to N. The slide types thatare available to any given communication project are dependant on theclass of the communication, and are defined in the class XML file, anddefine a template class. The template class is chosen based on a numberof user inputs. For example, one template class is chosen based on theresponses to an interview/query process operated by the user of thesystem prior to creating the communication. This allows the system toonly offer slide types that are relevant to the user's responses to theinterview and/or query process.

Slides are a grouping of design layers, design elements, and contentcontainers. The design layers are predefined and remain static. However,they are able to accommodate any design arrangement of content deemednecessary by the template designer. In an exemplary embodiment, theslide layers include background, main, foreground, and navigation. Thereis one core design file for each layer except for the main layer andthey are as follows: background.fla, slideTypen.fla, foreground.fla, andnav.fla. The number of slideTypen.fla core files that exist depend onthe number of slide types that are defined for the given class. Forexample, one particular class has five slide types defined in its XMLclass file. Therefore there are five main core design files(slideType0.fla, slideType1.fla, slideType2.fla, slideType3.fla, andslideType4.fla).

A class is a unique collection of slide type(s). The number of slidetypes in any given class can range from 1 to N. Classes are used toorganize communication types by the quantity and type of contentdisplayed on each slide in the class. For example, a template class canhave five unique slide types, with each slide type containing no morethan a certain number of content containers. In an embodiment, the slidetype contains no more than five content containers, although more thanfive content containers can be used. However, instead of adding the newslide type to a template class, for example, a new class can be createdto accommodate the new slide type(s). A class is defined, and asufficient number of slide types are provided for the user to achievetheir design goals, but the total number of slide types are limited asso not to overload the user with too many choices. The system managesand controls the creation and maintenance of all classes.

A slide type is a unique collection of media container(s). The number ofcontainers for any given slide type can range from 1 to N. Slide typesare used to organize the quantity and type of content that will bedisplayed on any given slide. In an exemplary embodiment, a number ofstandard container types can be used when creating a slide type. A textcontainer includes text components and is used for displaying HTMLformatted text, a image container includes image components and is usedto display images and .swf files, and a video container includes videocomponents and is used to display streaming video. An audio containerincludes audio components and is used to provide streaming audio oraudio clips. The user is responsible for the layout of the containersthat appear on a slide. The quantities and types of containers for agiven slide type are defined in the class XML file. Other than followingthe naming convention defined in the XML class file for the containers,the system is flexible and allows the user to use the containers in anydesign arrangement they choose. Each content type component, or mediaasset, can be represented in a palette of related content types, forselection by a user and incorporation into a communication.

The project viewer, such as the project viewer 118 shown in FIG. 1, isan application that renders or “serializes” the communication projectslides and content, and provides them with functionality. When theproject viewer is launched, it is passed a data structure and associatedsoftware programs called the project object. The project object containsthe information necessary for the communication project to render andplayback as configured by the end user. Slides are represented in theproject object as elements in an array. Once the project object isloaded and interpreted, the project viewer determines a load sequencefor the communication project content. The project object is agnostic asto the type of file it is rendering and is, therefore, able to produce awide variety of communications such as websites, dynamically createdwebsites, Flash™ banner ads, presentations, brochures, advertisements onthird party websites, and/or the like.

The content loads in the specific design layer (i.e. background,foreground, etc.) assigned by the end user. As each layer loads in theload sequence, the project viewer then loads the content into thecontainers in that layer. Once the sequence has finished executing, thecommunication project will begin playback. Communication projectplayback has two states: auto-play on and auto-play off.

In one embodiment, if auto-play is on, the project viewer determines theduration property of the current slide. If the value of that property isgreater than zero, the project viewer waits for that value in secondsbefore automatically advancing to the next available slide in thecommunication project. If the value of that property equals zero, theslide viewer stops on the slide until the user navigates to a differentslide. If auto-play is off, users must use the slide navigation controlsto view a different slide.

The project viewer also provides the conduit for the exchange ofinformation and/or commands between the different design layers, orbetween the project viewer itself and a specific layer, referred toherein as the Slide Layer Interface. This interface not only enables thebasic “built-in” functionality between the layers, their containers, andthe project viewer, but also allows for much greater programming controlfor advanced developers. This is because the Slide Layer Interface isbasically a collection of pointers. In an embodiment, this interfaceallows the direct use of AS 1.0 as the command language. This willenable the creation of highly functional and complex core files able toachieve all customization needs that fit within the programming scope ofAS 1.0, the specification for which is incorporated by reference herein.

Any content that loads on the main layer will change from slide type toslide type. Any content that loads on the background, foreground, ornavigation layers typically remains constant and does not change betweenslides. That content is referred to as “universal content,” andtypically consists of header logos, communication titles, headlines,etc. Mechanisms allow slide layers to communicate with each other aswell as load any type of content on any layer. All of the complexprogramming needed to govern content loading, playback, andfunctionality has been incorporated into the project viewer andcontainer components.

The system includes a number of core design files. One such file is“background.fla.” This file is loaded in the bottom-most position in theproject viewer. Any content or design elements that needs to appearbehind other content or design elements should be placed in this corefile. The background.fla file has a number of native functions:

-   -   initTemplateObject( ): This function is called after the first        frame is fully loaded. This function creates the templateObject        object which is used by the project viewer.    -   setValues( ): This function is called after ieController has        been assembled and distributed to the various layers. Color        information is retrieved from the ieController object and stored        in local variables (color1Value, color2Value, color3Value).        These values can be used to dynamically color shape elements        (i.e. movie-clips) used in the template. This function is also        used to distribute any image, .swf, video, or HTML text content        to their proper movie clips for the currently selected slide.    -   startPlayback( ): This function is called by the project viewer        after this .swf has been fully loaded and initialized.

Another core design file is “foreground.fla”. This file is loaded justunder the top-most position (nav.fla) in the project viewer. Any contentor design elements that need to appear above other content or designelements (except the navigation controls) are placed in this core file.Native functions of “foreground.fla” include:

-   -   initTemplateObject( ): This function is called after the first        frame is fully loaded. This function creates the templateObject        object which is used by the project viewer.    -   setValues( ): This function is called after ieController has        been assembled and distributed to the various layers. Color        information is retrieved from the ieController object and stored        in local variables (color1Value, color2Value, color3Value).        These values can be used to dynamically color shape elements        (i.e. movie-clips) used in the template. This function is also        used to distribute any image, .swf, video, or HTML text content        to their proper movie clips for the currently selected slide.    -   startPlayback( ): This function is called by the project viewer        after this .swf has been fully loaded and initialized.

Another core design file is “intro.fla”. This file loads prior to anyother core file. No other core files will render until this file is doneexecuting. It is located on layer above the nav.fla file. Nativefunctions of this file include:

-   -   initTemplateObject( ): This function is called after the first        frame is fully loaded. This function creates the templateObject        object which is used by the project viewer.    -   setValues( ): This function is called after ieController has        been assembled and distributed: to the various layers. Color        information is retrieved from the ieController object and stored        in local variables (color1Value, color2Value, color3Value).        These values can be used to dynamically color shape elements        (i.e. movie-clips) used in the template. This function is also        used to distribute any image, .swf, video, or HTML text content        to their proper movie clips for the currently selected slide.

A “slideTypen.fla” core design file loads above the background file andbelow the foreground file. Main slide content typically appears in thisfile. Its functions include:

-   -   initTemplateObject( ): This function is called after the first        frame is fully loaded. This function creates the templateObject        object which is used by the project viewer.    -   setValues( ): This function is called after ieController has        been assembled and distributed to the various layers. Color        information is retrieved from the ieController object and stored        in local variables (color1Value, color2Value, color3Value).        These values can be used to dynamically color shape elements        (i.e. movie-clips) used in the template. This function is also        used to distribute any image, .swf, video, or HTML text content        to their proper movie clips for the currently selected slide.    -   startPlayback( ): This function is called by the project viewer        after this .swf has been fully loaded and initialized.

A “nav.fla” core design file loads above the foreground file andincludes the navigation controls. The visibility of the navigationcontrols is determined by the end user. Toggling the visibility to falsecauses the project viewer to skip the loading of this file. Its nativefunctions include:

-   -   initTemplateObject( ): This function is called after the first        frame is fully loaded. This function creates the templateObject        object which is used by the project viewer.    -   setValues( ): This function is called after ieController has        been assembled and distributed to the various layers. Color        information is retrieved from the ieController object and stored        in local variables (color1Value, color2Value, color3Value).        These values can be used to dynamically color shape elements        (i.e., movie-clips) used in the template. This function is also        used to distribute any image, .swf, video, or HTML text content        to their proper movie clips for the currently selected slide.    -   buildNavigation( ): This function is called by the navPane clip        after it is fully loaded on the time line and after the ieNavXML        XML object is created and placed on this time line. The ieNavXML        XML object is created inside the project viewer based on the        tree structure of the slides (i.e. how they are organized in the        tree hierarchy). Main options are represented by Parent nodes in        the XML object. Menu items are Children of the particular Parent        node.    -   changeSlide(optionNumber, itemNumber): This function is called        when an item is clicked in the navigation menu controls. Options        are grouped by main options and sub options. The first main        option is indexed at zero and all first sub-options are also        zero-indexed. When a menu item is clicked, it simply passes the        main option it is located at as the optionNumber parameter. The        value of the itemNumber parameter is same as the menu item's        position in the list of sub-options. For example: The third        sub-option “About Our Company” of the second main option “About        Us” would make the call to changeSlide( )—changeSlide(1, 2).

A configuration file “containerData.xml” defines the class. It isprovided only as a reference as to how containers are declared within aslide type, and how slide types are declared within the class. This fileis used by the project viewer application and the project builderapplication for determining available slide types and locating thecontainers within the slide.

Container Components

Working examples of container components are provided in a “Source.fla”folder to illustrate how the container components are integrated intothe template design. In these examples is shown a fully functionaltemplate so that a deep understanding of how the components work is notnecessary. Once the user is comfortable with the core design files andhow the components operate, the system provides different ways to applydesign style changes to the components.

Image Component

The image component is a multimedia module that is used inside the coredesign files to load and display images and/or .swf files. One suchmultimedia module is based on a Macromedia Flash MX® component, which inturn is based on AS 1.0. The user integrates and positions thiscomponent into their design. Once finished, the component will be ableto load and display any image or .swf content that the end user assignsto it. The image component is easy to integrate into any graphic layoutor animation schema, and does not restrict the user from using Flash™animation or other visual effects. The image component is used only inedit mode.

From the main timeline inside a core template file (for example: a fiveslide class, foreground.swf), this component can be found at the framelabeled “staticView”, inside of a movie clip named foreground GaphicA.The module initLayout( ) is used to initialize the component and prepareit to begin loading image or .swf content. Properties include:

containerWidth: sets the width of the display pane.

containerHeight: sets the height of the display pane.

containerPath: is a component, such as a Flash™ component, as defined inthe XML class file.

slideLayer: defines the layer in which this component is located. Validvalues can include “foreground”, “background”, and/or “communication”.

Video Component

The video component is used inside the core design files to load anddisplay .flv video. In an embodiment, the video component is aMacromedia Flash MX® component based on AS 1.0. The template designerintegrates and positions this component into their design. Oncefinished, the component will be able to load and display any .flvcontent that the end user assigns to it. The video component is alsoeasy to integrate into any graphic layout or animation schema, and doesnot restrict the user from using Flash™ animation or other visualeffects. The video component is used only in playback mode.

In order to use the video component, from the main timeline inside acore template file (for example: five slide class, foreground.swf), thevideo component can be found inside of a movie clip namedimageContainer1.videoContent. The video component includes the followingmethods: initLayout( )—used to initialize the component and prepare itto begin playing a video stream; and initVideoPane(videoURL, bufferTime,videoVolume)—used to start the video stream. The properties of the videocomponent include:

containerWidth: sets the width of the video pane.

containerHeight: sets the height of the video pane.

controllerXPos: sets the x-position of the playback controller. A valueof −1 aligns the left edge of the controller with the left edge of thevideo pane.

controllerYPos: sets the y-position of the playback controller, where avalue of −1 aligns the top edge of the controller with the bottom edgeof the video pane.

controllerWidth: sets the width of the playback controller, where valueof −1 causes the controller to adopt the width of the video pane.

callback: a function that gets called when the video buffer is full.

autoSizePane: that forces sizing, alignment, and position of the videopane and the playback controller.

controlBarHeight: sets the height of the playback controller.

Text Component

The text component is used inside the core design files to load anddisplay HTML formatted text. In an embodiment, the text component is aMacromedia Flash MX® component based on AS 1.0. The user integrates andpositions this component into their design, and then names the componentaccording to the class XML file. Once finished, the component will beable to load and display any HTML text content that the end user assignsto it. The text component is needed only in edit mode. During playback,specific text content is manually assigned to a Flash™ text field by theuser.

The text component can be found, from the main timeline inside a coretemplate file (for example: five slide classes, foreground.swf), at theframe labeled “staticView”, inside of the movie clips namedforegroundTextA and foregroundTextB.

The function call “initLayout( )” is used to initialize the componentand prepare it to begin displaying HTML text. Properties of the textcomponent include:

containerWidth: sets the width of the text pane.

containerHeight: Sets the height of the text pane.

containerPath: The Flash path of the component as defined in the XMLclass file.

headline: a Boolean property that sets the display state of thecomponent. Text components set to the headline state are able to use acustom movie clip to display the text content. This allows the user touse custom fonts and text styles and disable text formatting from theuser.

staticHeadline: The name of the linked clip in the library to use todisplay the text content.

slideLayer: The layer in which this component is located. Valid valuesare “foreground”, “background”, and “communication”.

Custom Components

Custom components are designed and implemented by the user or templatedesigner, and can be used just like the standard components forintegration into the communication project. Custom components pass aconfiguration object to the slide viewer which allows the user toconfigure any properties of the component. This object is a basicname/value structure that represents a hash of the property/value pairs.This hash is then be dynamically integrated into the system and assignedto the slide on which it is located. This schema allows user/developersto create and introduce powerful components that can handle tasks suchas xml feeds (such as data from the Google Adwords or Overture system,or other proprietary data feeds from proprietary databases,conferencing/chatting, or web services), along with many otherapplications.

Custom components can include voiceover narration (i.e. digital voicefiles), personal audio files, special images and/or graphics such aslogos, and videos that a user provides to the system for storing in themedia repository,

View Modes

The user builds their layout in the core design files. The projectviewer is able to open and render these files in a layered manner sothat the content “stacks” according to the layer on which it is located.For example, content on the background layer appears below content inthe foreground layer. In one embodiment, there are two project viewers.In a preferred exemplary embodiment, the two project viewers aresubstantially identical. One of the project viewers is provided for liveplayback of the communication project, while the other is embeddedwithin the communication project builder and is needed to render thecore files to the end user so that the user can edit desired content inthe containers. In an alternative embodiment, another project viewer isprovided to render out or “serialize” completed communication files intoa variety of third party formats such as .swf, .pdf, xml, html, txt, orany other format.

Accordingly, all of the core files can support two states: a playbackstate and an edit state. These states are designated within each corefile by a frame label. When loaded into the builder, the project viewerimmediately sends the playhead inside the core files to the framelabeled “staticView”. Otherwise, the playhead is positioned at the firstframe and stopped until the communication project is ready to play.

Live View

“Live View” describes the full playback of a communication project.During live view, all functionality, design, and animation are activeand visible to the end user. It is the finished product as configured bythe user.

Edit View

“Edit View” is experienced within the project builder and, in someinstances, the “Live View” where a user contributes edits or comments toa communication. Though functionality and design remain intact,animations are disabled. This “display” view offers the users contextwithin the design so content can be configured and assigned tocontainers.

Groups

“Groups” is an application that enables groups of users to create, edit,share and distribute communications created by the system according to aset of business rules. For example, a group of 25 users can utilize thesystem to communicate a uniform message, yet still retain the autonomouscontrols to customize each communications piece according to the rulesset up by the Administrator. Each Group contains a defined set of rolesand abilities. These abilities are set by a system administrator, andthen utilized by the users in that Group.

In one embodiment, a user can purchase access to a group of other users,called a “Team account.” In the Team account, one administrator has theright to share communications with the other users; in effect, creatingcommunications for them and giving them limited rights to edit thecommunication. In another embodiment, a user can purchase access to anenterprise group of users which can be N number of users and M number ofadministrators. This functionality gives the enterprise the ability touniformly use the same communication, but tailor it to a specificmarket, segment, opportunity or the like.

Sharing

“Sharing” is an application that enables administrators and users to setup a system, whereby administrative users can create and sharecommunications with N number of users in up to N accounts or physicallocations. Several types of sharing exist, each having a set ofadvantages. In one example, three types of sharing include: LiveSharing, Linked Sharing, and Smart Sharing. Live Sharing maintains alink between the communications in use so that an administrator can makechanges to a communication, so that changes to the communication areupdated in real time. That is, there is no time delay between the timethe edit is made and the time the edit is published live to thecommunication.

Linked Sharing allows an administrator to make changes to a “main”communication and up to N “derivative” communications such that changesto the main communication are disseminated to each derivativecommunication in real time. Accordingly, there is no time delay betweenwhen an edit is made and the time the edit is published live to eachrelevant communication.

Smart Sharing allows several Administrators to make changes to several“main” communication and up to N “derivative” communications, such thatchanges to the main communication are disseminated to each derivativecommunication in real time. Thus, there is no time delay between thetime an edit is made and the time the edit is published live to eachderivative communication. However, in Smart Sharing, business rules areapplied so that an organizational hierarchy can be created to manage theflow of the main and derivative communications. Business rules of SmartSharing are also applied to allow for deletion of derivativecommunications from the system without affecting other derivativecommunications in the linked chain. This allows for the consistent andrapid dissemination of information across a broad range of users, and isparticularly useful for a corporate salesforce or regional advertisersin maintaining a consistent communications message.

Example

The following describes an example of the functionality of the systemand method described herein, as used by a user.

A membership account includes online access to all the functions forediting, distributing, and tracking your communications. A variety ofselectable options are offered based on a user's individual needs. Thenumber of communications in an account is based on the membership levelpurchased. A user may edit communications as often as desired, and asmany copies as desired can be saved to a storage device, such as acomputer hard drive. To access the account (and associatedcommunications), a user must first login from a homepage, i.e.www.impactengine.com. The user then must specify a user name andpassword that was used to sign up. To change account information, a usercan select a “My Account” link from a main navigation bar, shown in thescreen shots as being located on the left side of a page, and thenselect a “Make Changes” control to make a change.

Edit Process

There is no limit to how often a communication can be updated.Accordingly, recipients and viewers can always see the most up-to-dateinformation. To edit a communication, a user first enters “Edit Mode” byselecting the “Edit” button next to the name of the selectedcommunication. The “Edit” button is located in a communication ControlPanel on the “MyHome” page, preferably at the top of the page.

Once in Edit Mode, a user will see a new navigation menu above, and canclick on the appropriate tab and make any changes in the forms provided.When finished, the user selects the “finish” button and thecommunication will be updated. The communication is pre-filled withdefault text, however all fields can be updated with whateverinformation chosen. Graphics may be uploaded in “Edit Mode” by selectingthe “Upload” button to access and upload images. The steps to befollowed can be displayed to upload images from your hard drive. Eachmembership includes an amount of disk space memory, i.e. up to agigabyte of disk space, in which images are stored.

Distribute

Once a communication is created, a user may use it in a variety of waysincluding: as a website, as a printed communication, as an email, or asa communication stored on a hard disk, CD-rom or other media device. Allfeatures are available from the main navigation inside a user account.An email function can be accessed by selecting the “Show” button next tothe name of the communication to be sent. The “Show” button is locatedin the communication Control Panel on the home page. The user isprovided a form to complete, and the communication will be sent to thedesignated e-mail recipients. Each recipient is sent a standard emailwith a graphic “view” link at the bottom. This link launches thecommunication directly from a designated website. There are noattachments or downloads needed. The body, title, and “from” name of themessage can be customized.

The email interface allows a user to send a communication to one or morerecipients at a time. In an embodiment, the number of recipients islimited to a particular number, i.e. six recipients. A user may send asmany emails as desired. Spamming of any kind is forbidden in conjunctionwith an account.

CD-ROM cards that include the communication can also be created. CD-ROMcards play in standard tray loading CD-ROM drives on Windows andMacintosh computers. The communication will automatically launch formaximum impact.

A communication can also be used as a user's home page. To execute thisfunctionality, a user can click on the “My Websites” from inside theaccount to generate a website based on the communications that arechosen. Then, the Domain Name Service (DNS) settings are automaticallyset up with the system's servers, and the website is available by typingin any URL (i.e. mywebsite.com). This function is used as the core touse any communication created by the communication builder engine systemas a dynamically created site for use with private web sites such asGoogle, Overture, eBay, Amazon and the like.

A communication can also be added to an existing web page by clicking onthe “Show” from inside the account to generate HTML or the actionscript(“objectembed”) code to directly embed the file into the page. This HTMLcan be placed anywhere on a web page.

In accordance with the above description, and as shown in FIGS. 2-5, acommunication method includes a number of steps for creating, storingand distributing multimedia communications. As shown in FIG. 2, a method200 for creating a template includes creating one or more communicationtemplates, at 202. The templates are typically created by designers andrepresent general structures and arrangements of multimediacommunications that are suitable for distribution to a number ofdifferent recipients via a number of different transmission mechanisms.In a preferred embodiment, the templates are created in Flash™actionscript using a proprietary application programming interface (API)for being loaded into the media repository.

At 204, media assets are provided for general use by any user. The mediaassets include media components such as text, font type, audio clips,video clips, images or graphics, Flash™ animation files, etc. At 206,media assets for private use are received by the communication builderengine and system. These private media assets can include proprietarylogos, images, sound files, or the like. At 208, the projecttemplate(s), general use media assets, and private use media assets areloaded and stored into the media repository, for future access by theuser. Private media assets can be accessed only by the user (orauthorized agent thereof) that provided them.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method 300 for template customization and mediaasset usage. At 302, the communication builder engine interviews theuser to determine the templates and/or media assets that will beappropriate for that user. For instance, a real estate agent user mayindicate a need to utilize stock images of houses, as opposed to imagesof only people in social settings. Likewise, the type, profession, orcharacteristics of the user can be used to tailor the types of templatesand/or media assets that will be available for access by that user, soas to not overburden the user with choices, but also to intelligentlyprovide the user with the most pertinent and efficient communicationcreation system possible.

At 304, the communication builder engine provides the appropriatetemplates and/or media assets to the user, as determined by theinterview or by user input data, for being customized into acommunication by the user. At 306, the customized communicationproject(s) are received from the user and compiled into a formatsuitable for transmission. At 308, the compiled communications arestored as projects in the media repository, for access by thedistribution and sharing programs.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method 400 for distributing and trackingcommunications. At 402, the communication builder engine receives aselection of completed communication projects that have been stored inthe media repository. At 404, the communication builder engine receivesfrom the user a selection of distribution mechanisms by which thecommunications will be transmitted. The distribution mechanism include,without limitation, websites, e-mail systems, CD-ROM, DVD, or via anoffline copy (i.e. hardcopy or print). At 406, the selectedcommunications are distributed to the selected distribution mechanismsfor transmission or sending to the selected recipients.

FIG. 5 illustrates sharing by users of media assets with other usersthat may be affiliated by employer, by contract or other arrangement. At502, the communication builder engine receives a selection of completedcommunication projects that can be shared among one or more other users.At 504, the one or more other users are identified and received by thecommunication builder engine. At 506, the sharing program of thecommunication builder engine processes the selections, and at 508 theprocessed selections and associated communication projects and/or mediaassets are made available to the selected one or more other users.

Embodiments of the invention and all of the functional operationsdescribed in this specification can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including thestructures disclosed in this specification and their structuralequivalents, or in combinations of them. Embodiments of the inventioncan be implemented as one or more computer program products, i.e., oneor more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a computerreadable medium, e.g., a machine readable storage device, a machinereadable storage medium, a memory device, or a machine-readablepropagated signal, for execution by, or to control the operation of,data processing apparatus.

The term “data processing apparatus” encompasses all apparatus, devices,and machines for processing data, including by way of example aprogrammable processor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers.The apparatus can include, in addition to hardware, code that creates anexecution environment for the computer program in question, e.g., codethat constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a databasemanagement system, an operating system, or a combination of them. Apropagated signal is an artificially generated signal, e.g., amachine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, thatis generated to encode information for transmission to suitable receiverapparatus.

A computer program (also referred to as a program, software, anapplication, a software application, a script, or code) can be writtenin any form of programming language, including compiled or interpretedlanguages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a standalone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unitsuitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program does notnecessarily correspond to a file in a file system. A program can bestored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g.,one or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a singlefile dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinatedfiles (e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub programs, orportions of code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed onone computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site ordistributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communicationnetwork.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform functions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC(application specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andany one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read only memory ora random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devicesfor storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will alsoinclude, or be operatively coupled to, a communication interface toreceive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storagedevices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto optical disks, oroptical disks.

Moreover, a computer can be embedded in another device, e.g., a mobiletelephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio player, aGlobal Positioning System (GPS) receiver, to name just a few.Information carriers suitable for embodying computer programinstructions and data include all forms of non volatile memory,including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM,EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal harddisks or removable disks; magneto optical disks; and CD ROM and DVD-ROMdisks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, orincorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the invention canbe implemented on a computer having a display device, e.g., a CRT(cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, fordisplaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device,e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which the user can provide input to thecomputer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interactionwith a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can beany form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback,or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in anyform, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.

Embodiments of the invention can be implemented in a computing systemthat includes a back end component, e.g., as a data server, or thatincludes a middleware component, e.g., an application server, or thatincludes a front end component, e.g., a client computer having agraphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user caninteract with an implementation of the invention, or any combination ofsuch back end, middleware, or front end components. The components ofthe system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital datacommunication, e.g., a communication network. Examples of communicationnetworks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a wide area network(“WAN”), e.g., the Internet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

Certain features which, for clarity, are described in this specificationin the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided incombination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features which,for brevity, are described in the context of a single embodiment, mayalso be provided in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitablesubcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above asacting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, oneor more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excisedfrom the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Particular embodiments of the invention have been described. Otherembodiments are within the scope of the following claims. For example,the steps recited in the claims can be performed in a different orderand still achieve desirable results. In addition, embodiments of theinvention are not limited to database architectures that are relational;for example, the invention can be implemented to provide indexing andarchiving methods and systems for databases built on models other thanthe relational model, e.g., navigational databases or object orienteddatabases, and for databases having records with complex attributestructures, e.g., object oriented programming objects or markup languagedocuments. The processes described may be implemented by applicationsspecifically performing archiving and retrieval functions or embeddedwithin other applications.

1. A multimedia communication system comprising: a media repository storing communication project templates and media assets of a number of content types, the communication project templates and media assets being accessible by a graphical user interface on a client computer via a network; a project builder providing the graphical user interface for the client computer, the graphical user interface comprising controls for selecting at least one communication project template and at least one of the media assets for integration into the communication project template for assembling a communication; and a project viewer, connected via the graphical user interface via the network, that renders the communication in the graphical user interface, wherein the communication is a collection of slides comprising a grouping of design layers, design elements, and content containers, the slides displayed by the project viewer using either auto-play on or auto-play off .
 2. The multimedia communication system in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a compiler to integrate the selected ones of the media assets into the one of the communication project templates to generate the communication.
 3. The multimedia communication system in accordance with claim 2, further comprising a distribution program that formats the communication according to selected ones of an electronic distribution format.
 4. The multimedia communication system in accordance with claim 3, wherein the electronic distribution format includes an electronic mail, a web page, an electronic brochure, and an animated file for display on a computer.
 5. The multimedia communication system in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a sharing program configured to receive user instructions for sharing the communication with other users.
 6. The multimedia communication system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the project builder further comprises a plurality of media asset palettes, each media asset palette comprising a content type, and which is displayed in the graphical user interface according to user preferences.
 7. The multimedia communication system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the media assets are classified according to content types, and wherein the content types include images, audio, video and text.
 8. A multimedia communication method comprising: providing, from a server computer, an interactive interview to a graphical user interface of a client computer; receiving, via the interactive interview, information about a user to indicate user preferences for a communication project template and a set of associated selectable media assets, the communication project template and media assets being accessible by the graphical user interface on the client computer; and providing, in the graphical user interface, a palette of at least one communication project template, and a palette of selectable media assets of at least one content type, for selection by the user to generate a communication , wherein the communication is a collection of slides comprising a grouping of design layers, design elements, and content containers, the slides displayed by the project viewer using either auto-play on or auto-play off.
 9. A multimedia communication method in accordance with claim 8, further comprising: receiving user selections of at least one communication project template, and at least one media asset; and integrating the at least one media asset with the communication project template to generate the communication.
 10. A multimedia communication method in accordance with claim 9, further comprising formatting the communication into selected ones of a plurality of electronic distribution formats. 